<p>On Friday, New York's Sotheby's announced the auction of the world's most valuable lavatory, a toilet made of solid gold. Italian artist, Maurizio Cattelan titled it as 'America', mentioned item as satirical in nature, representing excessive wealth. </p><p>"Whatever you eat, a $200 lunch or a $2 hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise," the artist once said.</p><p>The toilet is made from 18 carat gold, and the bidding price starts at $10 million. The price may vary at the day of the auction, considering the price of gold a few hours before the auction starts. </p>.<p>"The starting bid at today’s rate, October 31, 2025, stands in the region of $10 million, based on its weight of 101.2kg," the website of Sotheby's says.</p><p>The auction house called it "incisive commentary on the collision of artistic production and commodity value." Two versions of the toilet were created in 2016, by the same artist, and the identical piece to the toilet was stolen in the 2019 theft at Blenheim Palace, England.</p>.Trump renovates the Lincoln bathroom in marble and gold.<p>“Cattelan for me is one of the greatest artists of our generation and this is one of his most iconic works,” David Galperin, vice chair and head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, complimenting the genius of the artist in an interview. </p><p>He also said that people should think of 'America' as part of a lineage that includes Marcel Duchamp, who put a urinal on a pedestal in 1917 and shocked the art landscape by calling it a sculpture.</p><p>“Duchamp takes the ordinary urinal by signing it and putting it on the pedestal,” Galperin said. “Cattelan renders it like a perfect replica, and rather than putting it on a pedestal, returns it to its use in the most ordinary context.”</p><p>In a statement, Cattelan told The New York Times that his artwork was “the sum of many opposites.”</p><p>'America' is all set to be up for sale on November 18 at 7 pm, at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York. "Visitors will be invited to view ‘America’ one-by-one in an intimate viewing experience ahead of The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction on 18 November," they said in a post on X. </p>
<p>On Friday, New York's Sotheby's announced the auction of the world's most valuable lavatory, a toilet made of solid gold. Italian artist, Maurizio Cattelan titled it as 'America', mentioned item as satirical in nature, representing excessive wealth. </p><p>"Whatever you eat, a $200 lunch or a $2 hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise," the artist once said.</p><p>The toilet is made from 18 carat gold, and the bidding price starts at $10 million. The price may vary at the day of the auction, considering the price of gold a few hours before the auction starts. </p>.<p>"The starting bid at today’s rate, October 31, 2025, stands in the region of $10 million, based on its weight of 101.2kg," the website of Sotheby's says.</p><p>The auction house called it "incisive commentary on the collision of artistic production and commodity value." Two versions of the toilet were created in 2016, by the same artist, and the identical piece to the toilet was stolen in the 2019 theft at Blenheim Palace, England.</p>.Trump renovates the Lincoln bathroom in marble and gold.<p>“Cattelan for me is one of the greatest artists of our generation and this is one of his most iconic works,” David Galperin, vice chair and head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, complimenting the genius of the artist in an interview. </p><p>He also said that people should think of 'America' as part of a lineage that includes Marcel Duchamp, who put a urinal on a pedestal in 1917 and shocked the art landscape by calling it a sculpture.</p><p>“Duchamp takes the ordinary urinal by signing it and putting it on the pedestal,” Galperin said. “Cattelan renders it like a perfect replica, and rather than putting it on a pedestal, returns it to its use in the most ordinary context.”</p><p>In a statement, Cattelan told The New York Times that his artwork was “the sum of many opposites.”</p><p>'America' is all set to be up for sale on November 18 at 7 pm, at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York. "Visitors will be invited to view ‘America’ one-by-one in an intimate viewing experience ahead of The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction on 18 November," they said in a post on X. </p>
